The 49 palm trees planted in 1993 have become a signature of the Castro.

The 49 palm trees planted in 1993 have become a signature of the Castro.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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The pavement buckles as the palm tree roots try to push up and through near the median on Market Street between Sanchez and Church streets.

The pavement buckles as the palm tree roots try to push up and through near the median on Market Street between Sanchez and Church streets.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Palms cause rough ride on Market Street

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Drivers in the Castro district are familiar with the 49 palm trees that adorn Market Street's median island, setting it apart from the rest of the city's main street as it stretches into downtown San Francisco.

Also familiar is the jagged, uneven pavement to either side of the median that makes the ride between Castro and Church streets a bumpy one.

Local resident Richard Kadel drives down that stretch of Market twice a day en route to his job in Berkeley and says the problem has been vexing him for years.

Plus, he said, "It's been very hard on my car's suspension."

The city has been aware of the problem caused by tree roots since 2005, said San Francisco Department of Public Works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon, though a permanent fix - without disrupting Muni service both above and below ground - has been hard to find.

So the department relies on patching the asphalt whenever officials deem the cracking to be bad enough to potentially damage vehicles.

"In the grand scheme of things, this isn't a major roadway problem," Gordon said. "We're aware there is a problem, but there's no simple fix."

Prompted by Chronicle Watch's inquiry, Public Works inspectors found that most of the damage is in areas so close to the median that drivers are not affected, Gordon said, and the potholes that were likely to affect drivers were filled last week.

Another temporary solution the Department of Public Works will look into is going underground to shave down the palm tree roots, but scheduling work times that minimize interruptions to train service is complicated, Gordon added.

No one has ever suggested removing the palm trees, which cost more than $125,000 to plant in 1993, and Castro area city Supervisor Scott Wiener said that will never be an option.

"It's the price of having those beautiful trees there," Wiener said. "The palms on Market are iconic at this point. I wish there was a better solution."

Meanwhile, Kadel does not believe merely filling the potholes is a solution.

"It just makes it worse," he said. "Instead of just down bumps, you have up and down bumps. It's like off-road driving."

What's not working

Issue: Palm tree roots in the median on Market Street in the Castro cause the pavement to buckle, creating a rough ride for cars and drivers.

What's been done: The city's Department of Public Works says coming up with a permanent fix has a low priority and crews will continuing filling the cracks with asphalt.